Westinghouse Electric Co.
Also known as Westinghouse Background * A great company Links Media * Law may clinch Westinghouse expansion November 20, 2006, by Tom Barnes, Post-Gazette Harrisburg Bureau -- Gov. Ed Rendell signed a bill today that is aimed at persuading Westinghouse Electric Co. to stay and expand in Pennsylvania by locating its new engineering campus, with at least 1,500 additional employees, in one of three southwestern Pennsylvania sites. Flanked at a news conference by state Sen. Sean Logan, D, Monroeville, and Rep. Mike Turzai, R, Bradford Woods, Mr. Rendell noted that other states, especially North Carolina and South Carolina, are trying to woo Westinghouse out of Pennsylvania and said the new incentives in the bill could help keep it here. Op Ed * Winning Westinghouse This wasn't Cranberry vs. Monroeville: Let's not turn a regional victory into a local defeat, Wednesday, March 28, 2007, by Richard Hadley We learned last week that Westinghouse Electric Co. had decided to expand and relocate its engineering and headquarters operations from Monroeville to the Cranberry Woods Business Park in Cranberry Township. * Abatement-plank-AI March 2007 position paper from the Allegheny Institute for Public Policy Insights Media Westinghouse breaks ground in Cranberry : Wednesday, August 15, 2007, by Dan Fitzpatrick, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Before digging a ceremonial shovel in the ground yesterday, Westinghouse Electric Chief Executive Officer Steve Tritch invoked the company's namesake and founder. "George," Mr. Tritch said, "would have wanted it this way." As Westinghouse began work on its new corporate campus in Cranberry, there were stories told about engineer George Westinghouse and how he moved from New York in 1886 to start Westinghouse Electric Corp. in Pittsburgh. The importance of keeping the Westinghouse name in southwestern Pennsylvania 121 years later can not be overstated, according to Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell, who was also on hand yesterday to celebrate the beginning of the three-building, 782,000-square-foot complex that should be completed by 2010. "I don't think it is far-fetched to say that Westinghouse's relationship with southwest Pennsylvania is akin to Microsoft's relationship with Seattle and the Pacific Northwest," the governor said. ''Allegheny County Executive Dan Onorato, center, and Steve Tritch, president and chief executive officer of Westinghouse, take part in groundbreaking ceremonies for Westinghouse's new corporate campus yesterday in Cranberry. This Westinghouse Electric is not the Westinghouse industrial conglomerate of old. It is a nuclear power company sold to Britain-based BNFL and then to Japanese conglomerate Toshiba Corp. after its parent company purchased CBS in 1995, moved its headquarters to New York and then changed its name to CBS in 1997. But it remains a dominant player in the nuclear power industry around the globe, responsible for half of the world's 435 operating nuclear plants and currently entertaining interest from more than 40 countries wanting more. Just last month it signed a contract to deliver four plants to the Chinese. The worldwide demand for more power plants is the reason for Westinghouse's move from Monroeville to a spacious 82-acre plot inside an office park near the intersection of Interstate 79 and Route 228. Westinghouse expects to hire 1,300 this year on top of the 3,500 it hired the previous five years. The new headquarters will hold about 2,000 people to start, and Mr. Tritch expects to add between 1,000 and 2,000 more local employees during the next five years. Some employees will begin the move from Monroeville and Churchill in 2009. The company has an option to build a fourth building on an adjacent 25 acres to accommodate future growth. Before landing in Cranberry, the company did consider several other states, especially South Carolina, before choosing to stay in southwestern Pennsylvania. Making its decision easier was a special district allowing Westinghouse to operate free of state and local taxes, saving the company $45 million over the duration of its 15-year lease. While gathering support for the legislative measure, the governor said he never encountered any resistance from Democrats or Republicans. "It was Pennsylvania, we needed this and, boom, we got it done," he said. Several rows of politicians and economic development officials, along with 50 employees from Westinghouse, attended yesterday's ceremony. Many were from Butler County and Cranberry, including Butler County Commissioner Scott Lowe and Cranberry Chairman John Milius. Also there was Allegheny County Chief Executive Dan Onorato, who was singled out by the governor and Westinghouse for his support despite the loss of a major employer from his home county. "This had the potential of turning into a battle between Allegheny County and Butler County, a battle between Monroeville and Cranberry," the governor said. Mr. Onorato "fought hard for Allegheny County" but was "bright enough" to realize that many of the jobs created by Westinghouse will likely by held by residents of Allegheny County. Dan Fitzpatrick can be reached at dfitzpatrick@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1752. category:company